Prolific, exciting, Lethal

Lethal Bizzle is one of the most prolific and exciting rappers to emerge from the UK underground scene.

Previously a member of the More Fire Crew, and with the chart hit Oi under his belt, he went on to form his own Lethal Bizzle Records imprint in 2004. At the end of that year, he released the comeback single Pow which entered at 11 in the UK charts; earning him a MOBO award for Best Single. Bizzle’s second album Back To Bizznizz was released in 2007 to critical acclaim, where he fused indie, grime, hip hop and rock. The singles Bizzle Bizzle (produced by Bizzle) and Babylon's Burning The Ghetto with Gallows are a calling card to his eclectic stance in music.

Renowned beat-boxer Killa Kela precedes the hip hop hero tonight at the home coming gig of the tour with his impressive voice scratching combined with drum ‘n’ bass, hip hop and electro cuts. But while his manager and DJ, Skeletrik flawlessly mixes hip hop; Killa’s sound becomes somewhat lost in what is meant to be his support. Drowned out over his drummer and DJ, Killa’s back-ups start to become the components that make the set more enjoyable. Now this is by no means is meant to put down Killa Kela’s undeniable skill.

But after hearing him mimicking a turn-tablist for what feels like a lengthy amount of time, I start to wonder if a beat boxer is really the right act for a gig such as this tonight. But after about fifteen minutes of hearing what talented DJs would usually drop in between song selections, sampling and other turn table tricks; it does start to feel like a broken record. While there are vocals from Kela’s penned tracks, they too unfortunately are a little drowned out and not enough to sustain attention. Highlights did include him fleetingly dropping his takes on Boom Boom Boom by The Back Eyed Peas and Get Right by J.Lo however. Though I would have much rather have just heard a DJ scratching and sampling tracks, rather than a man pretending to.

Quoted by the Guardian as the 'best known rapper in the indie scene', Lethal has been embraced by rock’s elite; having worked with Babyshambles, Kate Nash and Gallows in the studio. His new album Go Hard which is out now includes work with producers including Donaeo, Mark Ronson, Dexplicit, Youngstar and Gallows.

Tonight sees him showcase new material as well as old to his diverse fan base. You can see a few clusters of the audience who are purely from his grime fan-base; but what is refreshing to see is there a number of punks, indie kids and nu-ravers in the crowd – possibly won over at support slots with the likes of The Wombats, The Enemy and The Pigeon Detectives. And in the spirit of all-ages events, it is even more refreshing to see that there is no queue for the bar!

While some may frown upon his knack for fusing very different stylings; whether you like it or not, Bizzle is magnetic. And as he takes to the stage suddenly a crowd forms and surges forward in what felt like an empty venue earlier in the evening. He tears through his grime-garage-hip hop-indie hybrid; kicking off with the defiant Police on my Back and the anthemic Bizzle Bizzle – already favourites of the night. Whether you know the words or not, whether you’re a dancer or not, whether you like to stand at the back at the bar or not; the entire crowd are in the air, down the front and back up for their man Bizzle tonight. And the atmosphere is anything but hostile – sometimes a sad situation at artists’ shows who still are very much part of the underground and breaking through. Most of this is because of the man himself, he’s a likeable guy with a story to tell and can tell that story to his hip hop crowd along with his indie crowd and they both get it and are happy to embrace the diversity. Go Hard, Pow and the infectious Fire are equally as triumphant as the man continues to shine with old favourites and new. Babylon is Burning was sadly missed off the list but will spur me to keep my eyes out for my next fix of the Bizzle on the back of his triumph tonight.